Glass edging machine



July 24, 95]

C. F. KLAGES I 4GLASS EDGING MACHINE 3 sheets-sheet v1 N .N NLN Filed May 27, 1948 C. F. KLAGES GLASS EDGING MACHINE July 24, V1951V 3 Sheets-Sheet 5 Filed May 27, 1948 y mveulor l f maa/2W l ai? WW@ 5'/ N Clttornegs Patented July 24, 1*.:951 ft u y GLASS EDGING MACHINE lChester F. Klag'S, Ross TownshipjAllegheny y County, Pa.,`assigno'r to G. W. Klages & Son,

Inc., a corporationof Pennsylvania Application May 27, 1948, Serial No. 29,430

My invention relates to .grinding or dressing the peripheral edges `of plates, and .isparticul larly directed to grinding the edges of plates or panes of shatterproof 'glass that are used in the windows of automobiles. Y

vIn theearly stages ofvdevelopment zoffthis arty s the panes of glassvwere ground manually; that'` is'a vworkman held the edge of the pane'to,be' dressed against `a rotatingV grinding wheel, and a'sthe grinding progressed he slowly shifted the. pane, advancing lthe edge in contact with 'thev wheel and effectingthe'uniform grinding of the entire length of the edge to be dressed. The work was vslo'w yand costlyy'and a' high degree of skill' was essential.

In the 'progressive development `of the Sart large automatic machinesl were constructed. Such machines comprised a chuck forsupporting a number of panes in closely spaced parallel re` lation, and a grooved grinding wheel was mount'- ed l to bear yieldinglyv against the edges of the panes, with the edge of each pane received inorieV of the grooves in the wheel. The wheel was powerfully rotated, and during such rotation the plates were rotated in unison relatively to the4 wheel, whereby rthe edges of the panes were caused to advance through the points of cont'act'of the grooves' in the wheel with such edges, effecting the progressive grinding or dressing of the' edges of au of the panes. l These machines were not satisfactory, because the 'edges of the panes were lnever linished uni' formly. A slight irregularity inthe edge of one pane in the machine caused that pane t'o receive either more or less (depending upon whether the irregularity was a protrusion or a recession in the extenty of theedge) of the grinding effect ofthe Wheel. This not only deprived the other panes of proper treatment, but resulted in the particular paney being subjected to too much or too little wheel pressurefwith the consequentI lack `of uniformity of the work. Additionally, it was found that in suchgrinding of a large number 'of panes' simultaneously a harmful vibration orlchattering invariably developed incr between the panes and the wheel,l in consequence of 'which the edges of'fmany of the panesweremarred by a minute chipping-away of the glass. *I These-and other objections promoted the de#` velopment of. .more highly specialized machines,-

of thev type shown in Letters Patent of the United States Nos.. 2,080,280 `and2,293,`828 granted ony the applications of Norman Klages on May 11, 1937 and August 25, 1942,- respectively.

mounted in a rotating chuck. The two panes eX- tended in common plane and were arranged to present inperipheral'continuity those portions ofv the edges of the panes which were to be dressed.

A Vsingle 4rotating grindingwheel 'was Illduntedv on In the' machines of-these Letters Patent two panes werez a delicately counterpoised arm, and such arm pressed the wheel `with the precise pressure required vagainst ,the substantially continuous pe-` ripheral edge formed by the two panes, and as the panes were slowlyv rotated in contact with the rapidly. turning wheel the edge portions of the panes presented tothe wheel were progres-- sively ground and dressed.

In ultimate commercial form the latter ma-l chines were designed'with two chucks adapted to` rotate on a horizontal axis and to support a pair of panes in a verticalplane on each of the op-r;

posite sides o f themachinef and a rotating grinding wheel was poised to operate on each side of the machine, whereby it becamey possible to ,workj upon four panes upon eachchucking-up or load-V It may be noted that ma. chines of the type shown in these patents proved ing of the machine.

highly successful over'a number of years. The quality of work was satisfactory, and the only adverse criticism was that the production was too low, requiring an investment in too many machines, with the attendant large requirements If the high rate of of floorspace and of labor. production of the earlier'l machine described could be achieved with the quality of work ob`I tained inthe later machines, a solution of the problem long facing the art would be realized'.

My present invention is aimed `at a solution of this problem, and to such end the invention iscentered in certain new and useful improvements in the construction of edge-grinding machines.

More particularly, the invention is embodied in the novel structural organization whereby two grinding wheels may be mounted on each side of an edge-grinding machine, with each wheell carried in a balanced arm'that is individually responsive to all of thejessen'tial yielding move? ments, while being otherwise an integral component o f a single machine unit. The rotating chucks of the machine are designed to support two pairs of panes in closely spaced parallel vation;

planes on each side of the machine, so thateight panes may be dressed in a single loading of the machine. The structural organization of four grinding wheels for independent operation to thel full extend necessary upon four sets of panes is a major feature of the invention.

The invention will be described, by way of example, as it has beenincorporated in, or applied to, the machine illustrated and described in Let" ters Patent No. 2,293,828, mentioned above; `In

the accompanying drawings:

Figure 1 is a View of the machine in side ele--` Figure 2 is a View of the supporting structure for the four grinding wheels of the machine, the view beingjin .plan and to larger scale;

Figure A3 is a diagrammatic view, showing .thel

3 machine partly in vertical section and partly in side elevation, and illustrating certain elements of the machine in more advanced'positions of operation than they appear in Figure 1;

Figure 4 is a view in cross section and to larger scale of the wheel-bearing end of one of the balanced arms of the machine, the plane Jof'l section being indicated at IV-IV in FigurelZ;

Figure is a fragmentary longitudinal section through one of the balanced arms, theplane of the section being indicated at V--V in Figure 2;

Figure 6 is a detailed view, showing a fragment of one of the grinding-wheel-supporting arms, as seen on the section plane V-VI of Figure 2,* and Figure 7 is a detailed view of a certain shaft that supports the grinding-wheel-supporting arms of the apparatus.

Referring to the drawings the machine includes a base 2 that supports a vertically extending housing 3. On each of the opposite sides of the housing (but one side appears in Figures 1 and 3 of the drawings) a rotary chuck 4 is arranged to support two pairs of glass plates or panes, the two panes of each pairV (indicated by broken lines 5, 5) beingsecured in common plane, and the two planes being arranged in closely spaced relation, and extending normal tothe axis of chuck rotation, which comprises, as shown in Figure, a chuck-supporting shaft I3. It may be. understood that this shaft is journaled in the Walls ofthe housing 3, and that the ends of the shaft extend fromthe opposite sides of the housing .and-carry thetwochucks 4. The structure ofthe chucks 4 (Figurel 1) is not a mattei' of immediate concern herein. Such devices are now known to the art, as also is the manner in which abra-king drag may be imposed upon each chuck. (See Letters Patent No. 2,080,280),` Suice it to say that thechucks are adapted-tosupport on each Side of the housing 3-two pairsof panes 5, 5 in closely spaced planes.

. Within the housing 3 a worm-gear I4 (Figure 3.). is vsecured to the shaft I3, and a lworm pinion I5. meshes with the gear. The pinion I5 is mounted on a drive shaft Il that is connected through wormfgearing I2 and belt drive 40 to an electric motor IIIv carried by a bracketIlZ. The pinion I5 is rotated with an angular velocity that is alternately increased and decreased, to the end that they linear advance ofthe edges of the plates-5 through the points of contact with the grinding wheels 6 shall be alternately accelerated and retarded. Thepurpose for such variation in the speed of rotation of the plates or panes 5 is fully presented in the Letters Patent already noted herein; `as well as4 the meanswhich may be employed to effectthe speed variation. These are notmatters. requiring description herein for those skilled in the art fully to understandA my invention.

A grooved grinding Wheel 6 is provided to operate ,uponV the substantially continuous periphery Ofeach of the four pairs 5, 5l of panes, andy each of. the fourwheels-is mounted on lever arm 'I fu-lcrumed or pivoted on a shaft 8. Each wheel 6 is borne at the distal end of its arm '1, at a substantial-interval from and to oneside of the fulcrum 8, while to the other side of the fulcrum, the body of the. arm. maybe weighted to cooperate with the weight of an electric motor 9. An adjustable counterweight Il). is also provided the counterweight I0- being adjustable both longitudinally and transversely of a supporting rod Ilia extending outward from the arm. By properly positioning said weightv I0. itbecomes effective with the Weight of the weighted end of the arm and motor il, to counter-balance, or overbalance, the wheel-supporting portion of the arm by the degree required to maintain the wheel 6 with proper pressure yieldingly against periphery of the pairof panes 5, 5 upon which the wheel is to work.

Becauseof the range through which each lever arm 'I must swing as the grinding wheel moves fromthe middle of the straight edges of the panes to the corners of the panes, the effective length ofthe moment arm between the center of the fulcrum 8 of the lever arm .and the center of gravity of the counterweight Vmassvaries appreciably, and it is not possible toobtain the desired precision-of counterweight effect by merely adjusting the weight I0 along the supportingrod ia which comprises, manifestly, a continuationl of the longitudinal axis of the leverarm. However, I have found that by also adjusting the counterweight; I0' transversely of the rod I0 the` required precision of counterbalancingl effect is obtained over the operating range of swing of the lever arm. For this purpose the counterweight I 0 straddles Vthe rod `IUaaandv is mountedina slideway IIlb that is adjustable. longitudinally of,

rod IIla and on such slideway a screw4 IDc is are ranged to adjust the weight III-transverselyof the rod Illa.

The shaft 8, on which the two pairsof armslare fu1crumed is supported ,in a carriage. IIS..

above4 thev machine, lrun ina direction normal to, axis of ,the shaft I3 on which the two chucks l rotate the four sets.5, 5 of panes.

'I'he four arms 'I that severally carry the four` grinding wheels -are arranged intwopairs, onev pair on each side of the carriage Ifor4 opera-.-

tion upon the edges of the two pairs of panes chucked vonopposite sides of the housing `3. The' particular structure and organization of the twoi arrnsfl-in each pair,to permit the Wheels of each:

pair to operate effectively with individual yielding` pressure upon the-glass, constitutena feature of major importance.

pair, and the bearing for the Wheels in the ends ofthe arms may be termed cantilever bearings.

A consideration of Figure 4 will illustrateithe,`

bearing structure. The hollow terminal of each arm lV forms a yjournal box, inwhich two antifriction bearings 50 and 5I are retained in spaced relation to provide support for the rotatable shaft 52.. From such spaced twin bearings-.the shaft52 projects, extending from the housing as a cantllever shaft whose distal end provides the rotary support forthel associate grinding wheel 6. Cooperating withl theimproved bearing arrangement is a special drive mechanism, vcomprising a.l

worm-gearll fixed on shaft 52. A drive shaft 55 extends longitudinally from'one end of the arm A'I to the other, and at oneend this drive shaft carries a worm pinion'56 that meshes vwith the gear 54, while-at opposite end' the drive shaft.` projects from the body of the arm .and is `equipped with the pulleys 51 (Figure 5) of a V-belt drive 58 (Figure 1) connected to motor 9. The worm gears 54, 56 and the V-belt drive 51, 58 may be It will be noted` that :the wheels 6, 6- ofeach pair of arms 'I are-borne iny closelyv facingrelation between the arms of the' muera-rm.- yThev grinding wheel on the outer larm or eachpair is carried across the spaces between the panes it is Working-on to the same extent asv is thegrindingwheel on the inner arm carried.

over thetspaces between-the'panes itis working` upon.-` rlfhus it will be lseen that the deviceii-'I-'lllv serves tosynchronize the position of the` cute-n arm with respect tothe inner arm- When thecam 66 is engaged, by. the -wheel S5. The. results are very satisfactory,` and great simplicity of-con. struction 4is thus-realized.

Various modicationsy and variations of the structure described lie within the eld ofinven.- tion dened. inthe appended-claims.

K Ijclaim;

1. VIn edge nishing. apparatus having a .chuck arranged` to support plates in four spaced parallel: planes for rotation on thel axis ofthe chuck, mechanism geared to` said chuck for rotatingit,

means for yieldingly supportingV four .rotatingy grinding wheels severally against the. edges ofthe plates in said planes, saidmeans comprising a base,.a carriage mounted. on said base -for move-l ment on a line extendingtransversely of the axisV of. plate rotation, twopairs or arms and means fory pivotallyqsupportingsaid arms one pair'on eachv of-the opposite sidesof said carriage, a shaft carried by each arm. at an interval from one side ofits pivotal support forrotatably mounting one of said rotating wheels, and means for effectinga regulated reciprocation. of said carriage lon said line ofmovement while the Wheel-engaged plates` are inrotation; the inventionherein described wherein the-twoHwheel-mountingshafts of eachpair ofarms are arranged to extendlaterally from the arms as cantilever members, the distal endsof said cantilever shafts being directed toward each other int-o juxtaposition for the support-'of said wheels in parallel', closely spaced `side-by-side relation, the arms of each-pair being relativelyY movable on their pivotal supporting means, and an adjustable lost-motion device connected to the arms of each. pair for limiting the rangeY of the relative movement of the arms of the pair.

2. In an `edge grinding machine, a grinding wheel support comprising an arm and means for pivotally supporting saidl arm at a point intermediate its extent, a` grinding wheel rotatably mounted on said arm at an interval from one and a flexible belt-and-pulley connection betweensaid motor and drive shaft.

3. In an edge grinding machine, a grinding wheel support comprising an arm-and means for pivotally Supporting said arm at a point intermediatev its extent, a vgrinding Wheel .rotatably mounted on said arm at an interval from one side ofiits4 pivotal support, a drive shaft borne by and extending longitudinally of said arm, gearing connecting said shaft to said grinding Wheel; the invention described comprising anfelectric motor mounted on said arm at an interval from the other side of saidA pivotal support and at an interval'above said drivel shaft in counter-poising relation with respect to said grinding-wheel, a

Ilexible` beltfand-pulley connection between-saidl u; 2,293,828

motor and driveshaft, acounterweight; fai counterweight-supporting.-v member extendingA- longitudinally of thefdirection-fof extent fof.` said! arm, meansfor securing said-counter-Weightlon-- said'r supporting` member in a positionofadjustf. ment selected longitudinally thereof, and'means, for.Y securing saidcounter-weightvl-in.. a `position of, adjustmentselectedV transversely ofv said support ingmember.v f

4.In 4an edge finishing apparatuscomprising.V a rotary, chuck. having. devicesior supporting' plates inftwovspaced parallel planes, a cam, por-f,v tion on ,said chuck, mechanism. geared, to. the chuck for rotating it, a pairot armsvpivotally mounted in common atpoints intermediatel their extents ona fulcrumspaced from the axisnf ro: tation of said chuck, agrindingwheel. rotatably mounted on each arm at an intervalfrcjm,I said` fulcrum, means actingpn said varms for swinging; them von their Yfulcrum to press saidgrinding wheelsseverallyagainst the edges .of the plates in said two planes, Aand means geared to each.. grinding wheel for powerfully rotating it; the inf. vention herein described comprising a cam wheel onl `one el` .said arms arrangedl for. engagement with said camportion on the chuck to control the1 position of such, arm and the grinding wheel borne thereby, and a lost-motion, device inter-l connecting said arms, wherebythe arms, othel'-,r wise independent-1y movable ontheir'` fulcrum within the limits of said lost-motiony'device, are constrained to common movement'when the cam, wheel engages saidcam portion. y f f 5. In anl edge-iinishing machine comprising. a.r fulcrum shaft having two arms'mounted thereon, and two grinding wheels'rotatably supported upon said arms severally, the combination of means for the adjustment ofsaid armslongitudi-- nally'of saidv shaft to vary thelateral position' of either grinding wheel and to modify'th'e lateral engagement with saidshaft, 'and means for so' far releasing the engagement of" sleeves 'with their arms ask to permit rotation ofthe sleeves to eiect said adjustment. 6. In a pivotally mounted arm ofa grinding machine having a Agrinding Wheel mounted on the arm at an interval from one side'ofv the axis of the pivotal mounting, anda counter-poisingi device arranged on said arm at an interval from" the opposite side of said axis; ythe invention herein described wherein said counter-poising device comprises a count'erweight, a counterweightfsupporting member extending longitudinally of the direction of lextent of said arm; means for scour-f ing said oounterweight on said supporting member in a position of adjustment selected longitudinallyr thereof, and means for securing'said counterweight in a position ofA adjustment se lected transversely of said supporting member; n

' CHESTER F. KLAGES.

REFERENCES CITED UNITED STATES PATENTS Number yName Date 1,462,420 Mikaelson et al. July 17, 1923 1,553,167 Hyden sept. 8, 1925 2,080,280 Klages I May 11, 1937 2,084,138 Gottschalk` June 15,- y192.7 2,195,054 Wallace et al. Mar. 26l9fi04v 

